MINUTES
SPECIAL JOINT MEETING CITY COUNCIL & WPC AUTHORITY AND THE BOARD OF FINANCE
MAY 14, 2012
A SPECIAL JOINT MEETING of the City Council & WPC Authority and the Board of Finance was held in the City Hall Auditorium on Monday, May 14, 2012
Present were Mayor Ryan Bingham, Corporation Counsel Ernestine Yuille-Weaver, City Councilors Gregg Cogswell, Elinor Carbone, Gerald Zordan, Marie Soliani and Drake Waldron, Board of Finance members Mark Bushka, Thomas Scoville, Laurene Pesce, Brian Paganini and Bill Lamoin, Comptroller Alice Proulx, Police Chief Michael Maniago, Deputy Police Chief Christopher Smedick, Fire Chief John Field, Deputy Fire Chief Gary Brunoli, Board of Public Safety Commissioner James Potter and Comptroller Alice Proulx. City Councilor Paul Samele was absent.
Mayor Bingham called the meeting to order at 5:00 p.m. to review and discuss the proposed City budgets for the fiscal period of July 1, 2012 to June 30, 2013.
Mayor Bingham announced he has recommended $288,610 in budget cuts and an additional $45,000 in revenue to total a net change of -$333,610 to the proposed budget. This would give us a mill rate of 33.79, including a requested cut of $342,000 to the Board of Education's budget, he said, and the total budget for the Council to now consider is $51,656,163. Mayor Bingham said that to get down to a 3% increase, there would be a need for an additional cut of $312,000 from the City on top of what we already have here, and $414,303 on top of the $342,000 to potentially be cut from the Board of Education or a total cut of $756,313 from the Board of Education. This would create a mill rate of 33.44, he said.
Mrs. Pesce asked how the reductions to the Vehicle Replacement Fund and the Equipment Maintenance Chargeback would be allocated. Ms. Proulx said the $35,729 is actually a lump sum sick day payout for one of the Equipment Maintenance employees from a reserve fund we've had in place over the years. There is enough in there to cover that lump sum for this year so it does not have to be charged back to the departments, she said. Mayor Bingham said the Vehicle Replacement reduction will be $100,000, but that can't be repeated, and we have to find a way to make up the difference. He said it will require the Vehicle Replacement Plan to be updated and charges the Vehicle Replacement Advisory Committee with the task of finding savings within that account. He said we need to find ways to use our
equipment better, possibly extend the vehicles' lives, and take vehicles off the plan. If the Vehicle Replacement Advisory Committee can make strong recommendations on fleet reductions, he said, there is a very real possibility we could find that savings.
Mayor Bingham asked if there are any individual Council members that want to suggest any additions or reductions to the budget before a vote is taken.
Mrs. Pesce asked for help understanding the two revenues. Ms. Proulx said that due to a review of anticipated employee insurance payment cost shares for the upcoming year, she was able to cut those estimates. She said the police tickets and permits revenue was increased based on an assumption that the collection rate would improve due to additional staff being placed in that department.
Mr. Bushka asked if two police officer positions will be restored. Mayor Bingham said it is definitely something he doesn't like to see reduced. He said he also wouldn't have wanted to recommend putting $125,000 back into the police budget, and then have to take it away from something else.
Councilor Carbone said she suspects that the 17% reduction to the Vehicle Replacement Fund will probably have to be made up at some time. She strongly encouraged the Vehicle Replacement Advisory Committee to look at how aggressively we are doing our replacements. Mayor Bingham said that is going to be the first priority. He noted that the Comptroller has taped together a large map illustrating the vehicle replacement cycles, and that we'll have to think long-term in finding those savings.
Councilor Carbone asked if the Board of Education allocation would also be reduced. Mayor Bingham said it's only fair, and he would suggest that an equal percentage be recommended to the Board of Finance for the Board of Education budget.
ACCEPT BUDGET ADJUSTMENTS
Councilor Carbone made a recommendation to accept the detailed breakdown of budget adjustments as presented. (Addendum 1) Councilor Waldron seconded. Councilor Soliani said she is still not comfortable that we've gone as deep as we could possibly go with the City or Board of Education budget. There could be deeper cuts without doing lay-offs, she said. Mayor Bingham said this is one set of recommendations, and more can be considered after that. The Council voted unanimously to approve the recommended adjustments as presented.
Councilor Soliani noted that the cuts being made are on minimal items and the Vehicle Replacement Account should be reconsidered. She said she has never been a proponent of purchasing vehicles whether they are needed or not, just because the money is there. She said it is sad for Torrington that deeper cuts can't be found.
Mayor Bingham said almost a million dollars has been cut from what the department heads requested to run their departments with. At this point, staff is what's left, he said, and if we're going to cut deeper, it will mean the City employs less people. He said that to keep it under a 3% increase, another $312,000 cut to the City would be needed, and an additional $414,000 cut to the Board of Education budget. The $312,000 would equal 12 layoffs, he said.
Ms. Proulx asked the Mayor and Boards if they want the Board of Education's reduction to match the City's by percentage. It would be an additional $40,000, she said.
Councilor Zordan asked if would make sense to not fill the positions opened by attrition during the upcoming year. Mayor Bingham replied that it depends on which department. We have held off positions in prior years if there are people retiring, especially in last 3 or 4 years, he said, but we’re at the point now that those opportunities aren't there.
APPROVE CITY BUDGET AND FORWARD TO BOARD OF FINANCE
On a motion by Councilor Carbone, seconded by Councilor Waldron, the Council voted unanimously to approve a City budget of $50,165,163 for the fiscal period of July 1, 2012 to June 30, 2013, and advance it to the Board of Finance.
Councilor Cogswell said that this vote is difficult but he will support it. He noted that they have all worked hard to minimize the impact to the taxpayers while providing the services that people expect. I believe that’s what is in this budget, he said.
Mayor Bingham said that only an adjustment of hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars would be large enough to make a significant impact. He said there may not be a department over two people in City Hall that hasn't had an impact in staffing, whether it be reduced hours, direct layoffs or reductions through attrition. Now, he said, Council has to decide whether they actually want to provide services such as garbage collection, a top-notch police and fire department or having roads cleared in time for people to get to work.
Councilor Soliani said the saddest part is the need to keep going to the same well, one that doesn't get any deeper. The tax base doesn't get any larger, she said and it's always the property owner in Torrington that we have to keep going to. She expressed hope that we're going to be able to increase our tax base.
Mayor Bingham said the property tax system in CT is in trouble, having significantly worsened in the last five or six years without any state revenue supplement increases, especially in education. That flat line of revenue from the State is not there anymore, he said, and the education budgets continue to rise at a pace far faster than municipal services. He said it's unfortunate that we have only one way to raise revenue. Mayor Bingham noted that the spending trends for the City of Torrington have a significantly reduced growth curve over the last four or five years. He said he knows it has been tough this year, but over the long term it has been significantly better than some of our competitors around the state. We should not be upset about that, he said.
Councilor Soliani said she hopes the Board of Finance makes sure they get this percentage of cuts from the Board of Education, and hopefully without having to cut athletic or music programs.
Mayor Bingham said we now verbally push the budget to the Board of Finance. He encouraged the members to ask any questions they may have.
ADJOURNMENT
On a motion by Councilor Carbone, seconded by Councilor Cogswell, and unanimously approved, the meeting was adjourned at 5:23 p.m.
ATTEST: JOSEPH L. QUARTIERO, CMC
CITY CLERK
Respectfully Submitted,
Carol L. Anderson, CCTC
Asst. City Clerk
Addendum 1
Detail Breakdown Of Budget Adjustments
Line Item Amount
Expenses
0010.0003.5545.0005 Fireworks -$30,000
0010.0047.5651.0003 Legal Settlements -$35,000
0010.0049.5275.0001 Equip Maint Chargeback -$35,729
0010.0049.5351.0001 Vehicle Replacement -$100,000
Custodian Employee Retirement -$37,881
To Be Determined Additional Budget Adjustments -$50,000
Total Expenditure Reductions -$288,610
Revenue
0010.0073.4085.0000 Police Tickets, Permits $25,000
0010.0070.4060.0000 Insurance Payments (Employee Cost Share) $20,000
Total Revenue Additions $45,000
Impact on taxpayer portion of budget -$333,610
FYI:
Impact re: Staff Reductions
Average Budget Reduction through Attrition $50,000
Average Budget Reduction through *Layoff $25,000
*Net of Unemployment Compensation Costs
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